Parramatta's terrible start to the NRL season has slumped to a new low, losing star Jarryd Hayne to a hip injury during a 14-4 defeat to Cronulla.
Eels coach Brad Arthur will also be sweating on the status of his only other key recruit this season in prop Kane Evans, who failed to finish Saturday's match due to a rib problem.
Parramatta have now lost their third straight match to start the year, ensuring they remain rooted to the bottom of the ladder in a year they were considered a top-four threat.
The last time Parramatta began with three straight defeats, they finished last in 2012.
For the Sharks, their first win of the year comes despite another unconvincing performance, as well as the absence of their own main playmaker in Matt Moylan, who had a hamstring injury.
However, coach Shane Flanagan could have another injury worry, with second-rower Jayson Bukuya coming off with a groin issue at a wet ANZ Stadium.
Halfback Chad Townsend scored all 14 of the Sharks' points courtesy of a try, and five goals from as many attempts.
He has now kicked 12 straight goals to begin the season.
Ill discipline again cost the Eels from the outset, giving away a penalty in a tackle in the 11th minute that allowed Townsend's first penalty goal for the match's opening points.
A Paul Gallen offload led to Townsend crossing for the first try five minutes later.
The Eels finally ended a 153-minute scoring drought that stretched back to round one when Kirisome Auva'a finished off a set piece in the 20th minute.
Hayne looked out of sorts not long after, seeking attention from the trainer following a kickoff and attempting to play on for a set before bowing out.
The Eels continued to struggle with a lack of self-control, handing Townsend consecutive penalty goals - the second for backchatting - to be down eight points at halftime.
The only points in a dour second half came from Townsend's fifth goal in the 72nd minute.
Arthur said it was an improvement defensively from last week's 54-0 humiliation against Manly.
"If we turned up like that in rounds one and two, maybe it's a different result for us in those games. So we've got our defence back," he said.
"But we've just got to try and get some even share of ball or not cook ourselves with lack of possession. We get the ball back and we're out on our feet."
Sharks coach Shane Flanagan revealed taking some notes from the earlier game in the day's double header, when South Sydney slogged it out against Manly in tricky conditions.
"We saw the game before, it was played between the two 20-metre trams. It didn't go outside too much," Flanagan said.
"I saw a couple of Souths tries where they kicked tight into corners and got some tries. We had the belief that it needed to be played similar so we played it through the middle third."
